Plugged Tires After a Flat
 

Hi Everyone,

I ran a search on this but the results were all dated before the new 2005 coupes with the 19” OEM rims came out.

For those who have the new 19” or I guess anyone who has the 19” OEM or aftermarket rims if you ever had a noise or vibration in your tires due to a nail (not in the sidewall) and had it plugged. I was told by my dealer that with low profile tires that they are very sensitive and you will feel anything unusual like a nail in the tire. I discovered a nail in my front driver side tire and the dealer plugged the tire but I still hear a noise/vibration. So I called them back and they said the plug will wear down in a couple of days and the noise will go away and if I wanted to I can bring it back and they will replace the plug with a patch. I just took delivery of my 6mt coupe two weeks ago so the tread on the tires are still very good so that’s why it’s being fix instead of being replace.

My question for those with 19” rims, have you plugged your tires and heard a noise but it went away after the plug had worn down?

The reason I making a point about the rims being 19” is because cars I’ve own in the past with 15” or 17” rims I’ve never felt or heard anything when I got a nail, I didn’t even know I had a nail until the tire was flat and I figure that was because there was more rubber between the rim and the road. Then again it may have nothing to do with the rims being 19”

Let me know your experiences on the subject, thanks!

Never, I repeat Never plug a tire from the outside. They are unreliable. Always patch from inside the tire. Today, there is a new kind of plug/patch combo. They plug the hole, from inside, and then patch it, again from the inside. Not sure of the procedure, but it is supposed to be safe.

Holes can only be patched if only in the tread area. Never patch if the hole is near the edge of the tread.

Lou

Thanks lowrider, I'm calling the dealer now to schedule them to replace the plug with the patch.

Good advice from lowrider!
And yes, the noise will go away as the rubber plug extending beyond the tread wears off.

low profile tires will always transmit more vibration and noise, there is less air cushion and flex with a narrower tire aspect ratio on a 19" on this car.

I've been told that the speed rating for the tire is no longer in effect after such a repair.
Be careful, and if you're skeptical, please get some professional advice on this.

C.

Everyone is right never plug a tire after a flat no matter who does it. The plug could actually cause a split in the tire after awhile and cause the tire to puncture. Im surprised the dealership even mentioned about plugging and not patching. Always patch on the inside.

plugs are really intended for a temp fix, if the tire is repairable it must be a patch, and you should read the dealer the riot act for giving you a plug.

he's right, bcareful after a patched tire. it will no longer have the same speed rating it had prior to patch. though ive never lost a tire due to fast driving w/ a patch. reason im saying it, is if you purchased the wheel tire warranty you should be able to plead your case for a new tire.

ppp

personally I would never ever patch or plug a tire, always replace. Yes I would plug a tire so that I can get to somewhere or drive on for a week or somthing, but I wouldnt ever do much driving on a patch or plug. We used to patch tires all the time for customers and charge like $45. The thing is that patches are not reliable and everynow and then we would have the customer come back with a flat tire.

And for you guys with tire pressure sensors: Never, never, never, never, ever, ever, ever use fix a flat. It will ruin the pressure sensor, you do not want to have to buy one...it will be about the same cost as a decent tire.

That's up for debate. If you ever read Road & Track's Technical Correspondence column, the issue of whether a manufacturer's speed rating would stay in effect after a tire repair has come up a few times. Several months ago R&T indicated that Michelin (or perhaps it was another major tire manufacturer; someone correct me here if necessary) surprisingly advised that a proper patching would not affect a tire's speed rating.

I'd still err on the side of caution, though, and not go wild with a patched tire, particularly on the track. But I'm very conservative by nature.

For street, a patched tire is okay if patched correctly.